Life preserver and swimming aid



Jun 29, 1954 J. P. BOSER ET AL 2,682,064 LIFE PRESERVER AND SWIMMING AID Filed Feb. 15, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS John P Boser am/NiQ/( hLS BoseY Attorney June 29, 1954 J. P. BOSER ET AL 2,682,064

LIFE PRESERVER AND SWIMMING AID Filed Feb. 15, 1951 2 SheetS-Sheet 2 I n Q JIIQII JD .IEINVENTORS John R Boser and A/icKoIas Boser llll ll 1 Attorney Patented June 29, 1954 LIFE PBESERVER AND SWIMMING AID John Peter Boser and Nickolas Boser,

Mission, British Columbia, Canada Application February 15, 1951, Serial No. 211,158

1 Claim.

This invention relates to life belts and more particularly to plastic buoyant members threaded on a belt and harnessed to the body for preserving life at sea and also to assist bathers when learning the art of swimming.

It is true that life belts are not new in the art but it is felt that the invention herein disclosed brings new and useful improvements over the state of the art.

The invention broadly comprises moulded buoyant plastic shells of various forms which are arranged or threaded on a belt to fit the contour of the wearer and which is supported by means of a harness disposed over the shoulders of the wearer.

An object of the invention is therefore to provide a plurality of buoyant plastic shells to be supported by means of a harness.

Still another object is to provide a belt on which the number of buoyant shells can be varied according to the weight of the wearer.

Still another object is to provide shells small enough so that they will not interfere with the movements of the wearer while swimming.

With these and other objects in view that may appear as the description proceeds the invention consists in the novel arrangement of parts claimed and shown in the accompanying drawing forming part of this application and in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a person wearing a life preserver constructed in accordance with the present invention:

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevational view through one of the floats;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a spacer;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational View of the device in an opened position;

Fig. 5 is a plan sectional view showing how the device is assembled;

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view of a modified form of the invention;

Fig. 7 is a spacer used with the device as shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is an elevational sectional view of the form of the invention shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 shows a further modified form;

Fig. 10 shows a form of the invention where the floats are threaded to the belt;

11 shows a modification of Fig. 10, and

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 6, where the floats are threaded on the belt.

Referring more in detail to the drawings in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views it will be seen the invention comprises a belt l5 having a fastening buckle I 6 at one of its extremities and a plurality of floats ll mounted thereon.

Between each float is a spacer l8. The belt 15 is supported by means of a harness which comprises shoulder straps l9 each arranged to be fastened to a buckle 20 mounted on a spacer. This construction renders the device readily adjustable for persons of various sizes and also permits the addition or removal of floats as required by the wearer.

As may be seen in Fig. 2, the floats I! are formed with a recessed portion 2| where the belts l5 are positioned. In the present form of the invention two belts [5 are secured to the buckle I 6 and are held one in front and one in the rear of the floats by the spacers I8. Since both belts are threaded through the spacers l8 they form a loop 22 by which the floats are secured. This is fully illustrated in Fig. 5, of the drawing.

Fig. 6, shows a modified form of the invention. In the present instance, the floats 23 take the form of two spheres joined by a sleeve 24 on which the belts 25 and 26 are mounted. Spacers 21 are also provided to keep the belts in position and to keep the two rows of floats in spaced apart relation. The spacer 21 comprises a straight portion 28 and a loop 29 at each extremity thereof.

Fig. 9, is still a further modification. In this case the floats 30 are formed with a pair of recesses 3| and as in Fig. 6, two belts are held in the recesses by means of spacers 32.

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 show further modifications in which the floats 33 are formed with an aperture 34 therethrough where the belts are threaded and in order to keep the fioats apart spacers 35 are used much like in the other form of the invention.

It is believed that the construction and advantages of the invention may be apparent from the foregoing paragraphs taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings without further detailed description.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed it is understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of cooperating parts may be resorted to within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

A life preserver comprising a pair of straps, a plurality of buoyant floats disposed between 3 said straps, loop members slidably mounted on said straps intermediate said floats adapted to hold said straps in embracing engagement with said floats, and shoulder straps connected to some of said 100p members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date Fraser Apr. '1, 1908 McCotter Apr. 11, 1911 Eastman Aug. 8, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain May 20, 1887 Great Britain Oct. 17, 1887 a Great Britain Mar. 28, 1918 IFraHce- :A ug. 13, 1926 France June 24, 1935 

